There’s nothing like having a settled team going into a World Cup year. But that hardly ever happens. India have gaps to plug in their limited-overs batting line-up and it was widely expected that the Asia Cup would be the starting point to do this. But, Rohit Sharma, leading the team in Virat Kohli’s absence has not experimented quite as much as was expected.

Given that India were given an almighty scare by Hong Kong in their opening match, it is understandable that Rohit wanted to field what he believed was the strongest line-up in every game. Besides, it can be argued that playing in the middle of the desert in summer is hardly the appropriate place to take a look at batsmen who will face completely different conditions in England at the World Cup next year.

The major talking point was KL Rahul not getting a game, especially given the emphatic manner in which he batted in the final Test in England after a string of low scores. Perhaps India feel they know enough about what Rahul can do, and are therefore taking a closer look at Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav.

Rayudu, who was not up the mark in a YoYo test just months ago, has been assured with the bat and sharp on the field. There are no signs of either rustiness or a lack of fitness. He has not been able to score at the T20 pace that is expected of most batsmen these days, but that has largely been because of the large outfield and sluggish pitches in Dubai.

Jadhav is usually better suited to scoring quickly down the order, and that is why he is being looked at for the No 6 position. The manner in which he has bowled in the Asia Cup has not hurt his cause either. Even with Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and now Ravindra Jadeja in the playing eleven, Rohit has turned to Jadhav when he felt that his brand of roundarm off spin would trouble a particular batsman. This has meant also that Manish Pandey has been unable to break into the playing eleven.

Pandey showed off his usefulness on the field – as a substitute, putting pressure by cutting off the singles when stationed inside the circle and taking one stunning catch on the ropes. Ironically, what has also reduced India’s chances of taking a look at middle-order batting candidates is the success that the openers have had. At the top of the innings, Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan have taken their time to get a feel for the conditions and opposition bowling before building solid partnerships.

The long-term headache of solving the middle-order conundrum, though, is not Rohit’s responsibility. After all, when Kohli is back he will hand off the captaincy and there might be a different line of thinking. What was good to see, though, was Rohit’s desire to have this sorted as soon as possible.

“The batting line-up is not settled, we all know about it, because there’s been a lot of guys who have played at that position,” he said. “Going forward we want everything to be settled, but it gives an opportunity to the guys to come and play the cricket they like to play and seal the spot. Numbers 3 (for this tournament), 4 and 6 are all up for grabs. All these guys are eyeing that. Obviously, we want to give as many chances as possible to the guys to make sure the No 4 and No 6 spots are sealed. I am sure all those guys who are eyeing that spot are hungry and want to grab that position.”

Rohit underscored the value of knowing one’s place and making plans accordingly. “If you look at the future, as a captain or player, you want your team to be settled and even the guys who are eyeing that spot want to be settled,” said Rohit.

“Nobody likes to be dropped and brought back into the squad. We want everyone to be feeling safe and settled, so that they can play freely. I guess they’re just a performance away from making their claim for that particular spot.” All that remains is to find the right time and place to give Rahul and Pandey the same opportunities.